A Black Kid Named Pete

On nicknames, soda machines, and the death of my innocence.

Photo Credit: Grand America Jukebox

I grew up in Pine Bluff, Arkansas. Our home was in a primarily Black neighborhood within walking distance of the city’s downtown area.

We moved to the small town south of Little Rock after our parents took jobs as managers at the local Dillard’s Department Store. Although I spent equal amounts of my childhood in both c…